Pro-Romney group hits Gingrich with attack ads in NH and SC

Restore Our Future, a super-PAC supporting Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, will run full-page ads attacking Newt Gingrich in the New Hampshire Union Leader and The State in Columbia, S.C., the most prominent newspapers in the next two primary states.

The group was largely credited for knocking Gingrich down from first place to fourth in Iowa with a barrage of negative ads in that state.

“On issue after issue, Barack Obama and Newt Gingrich have so much in common — the right choice is to choose neither,” the ad states, then alleges areas in which Gingrich and Obama agree or have agreed, including supporting climate-change legislation, an individual mandate in healthcare, government-sponsored enterprises such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and “amnesty for illegal immigrants.”

Gingrich has complained about the negative advertising and promised to stay positive, but in recent days has been more and more vociferous in his criticism of Romney. The former House Speaker’s campaign is running a full-page ad of its own criticizing the former Massachusetts governor.

Restore Our Future’s news release flicked Gingrich for that approach.

“In the style of Speaker Gingrich’s positive ‘fact based’ newspaper advertisement, these ads will not be accompanied by mean or scary music,” the group said in its release.

The decision to attack Gingrich is a curious one, as Rick Santorum has emerged as Romney’s top rival for the GOP nomination after he virtually tied Romney on Tuesday in Iowa’s caucuses. Post-voting analysis shows much of Gingrich’s support in that state ended up going to Santorum.

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